Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

Republicans have fought such measures for more than four years, but both Republicans and Democrats say attitudes have changed and consideration of the matter is just beginning in the legislative session. State Sen. Steve Newman, a Republican who chairs the Education and Health Committee, says, “We are entering round one."

The Hill:
Virginia State Senate Panel Kills Medicaid Expansion Bill
The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Emmett Hanger (R), would have directed the state’s secretary of Health and Human Resources to submit a Medicaid expansion waiver to the federal government. The bill called for the waiver to include work requirements for “able-bodied” adults and income verification, as well as cost-sharing provisions like premiums and copayments — all policies favored by conservatives. (Weixel, 1/25)

Richmond Times-Dispatch:
Virginia Senate Panel Defeats Legislation To Expand Medicaid
The Finance Committee still is likely to have the last word on whether Virginia adopts Medicaid expansion, which is the foundation for the $115 billion budget then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe proposed last month in his final attempt to accept billions of dollars in federal money under the Affordable Care Act to extend health care coverage to those without it. In addition to the budget, however, the committee soon will consider an alternative to Medicaid expansion proposed by one of its members, Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant, R-Henrico, who voted against Hanger’s bill. If approved, Dunnavant’s bill would go to the Finance Committee, where it would be open to amendment to expand the program. (Martz, 1/25)

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